UH Law School to hold informational session for part-time program expected to launch Fall 2008

HONOLULU - The William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is expected to offer a part-time program as early as next fall semester. The Law School has applied to the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools for approval to begin a small evening law program with a target of 24 students in each entering class. The Law School expects to receive approval by accreditors in early spring.

An informational meeting for interested applicants will be held at 6 p.m. on December 18, 2007 in the Law School‘s Moot Court Room. Interested applicants must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) by February 2, 2008, and must submit an application by March 1, 2008. Pending approval, the Law School plans to enroll its first class of 24 part-time students for the fall 2008. Those admitted to the part-time program must meet the same admissions standards as students admitted to the full-time program. Classes are scheduled to meet three evenings a week (Tuesday-Thursday) from 5:30-8:35 p.m.

In the normal course of study, a part-time student could expect to complete the first year of the regular JD curriculum in two years and to graduate in four years, though the timing would be quite flexible.

Dean Aviam Soifer explained that such a part-time program furthers the Law School‘s central mission of providing an excellent legal education and helping to meet the legal needs and interests of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region. "This part-time program will broaden access to legal education, promote greater diversity in the bar, and expand educational opportunities for our state and beyond," Soifer stated. "Our current full-time only format is a significant barrier to access to legal education for nontraditional aspirants and for those who must work to support themselves and their families."

The school‘s admissions statistics reveal considerable demand for increased opportunities for legal education in Hawai‘i and the region. Currently, approximately 90 students matriculate into the full-time program each year. But with approximately 1,100 applications, the Law School disappoints many applicants who are qualified and would perform well in law school.

The U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the William S. Richardson School of Law among the top 20 law schools for environmental law, diversity and low faculty/student ratio.